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They’re not just alley cats, they’re shadow warrior alley cats.

To the great sadness of fans of Japanese history and clandestine activities in general, you aren’t likely to cross paths with any ninja in modern Japan. That said, the shinobi skills of stealth and blending into one’s surroundings are a part of Japan’s cultural heritage that seems to be alive and well in some of its animal residents.

A few days ago, we saw a pet bunny, no doubt on some sort of intelligence-gathering mission, who’d made himself nigh indistinguishable from the piled stuffed animals he’d embedded himself in. Now comes another case of critters hiding in plain sight, courtesy of Japanese Twitter user @SABITORA4.

While the first thing to grab your eye in this back alley snapshot may be the surprising amount of graffiti for a Japanese city, there’s also a group of cats in the photo. Can you spot them?

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Need a hint? Like all proper reconnaissance teams, the ninja kitties have secured a vantage point above the street their surveilling. Also, while shinobi sometimes work alone, the members of this mission team are sticking in close proximity to one another, ready to swiftly back one another up should the need arise.

Give up? The cats are hiding…

…

…

here!

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We can only assume that the cats were out as part of some ploy to disrupt the operations of a rival clan of ninja dogs, or perhaps to break into a tuna cannery. We can’t say if they succeeded though, as apparently the feline trio has gotten even stealthier since this photo was taken and hasn’t been photographed again since.

Source: IT Media
Top image: Twitter/@SABITORA4
Insert images: Twitter/@SABITORA4 (1, 2) (edited by RocketNews24)

Follow Casey on Twitter, where he’s wondering how many ninja cats he’s walked by today without even realizing it.